May Wright Sewall

(1844-1920)

Perhaps no one buried at Crown Hill did more to advance the causes of women than May Sewall. In 1920, Booth Tarkington called her one of the “three most prominent citizens of Indiana.”

Making a mark as a teacher first, May joined the suffrage movement in 1878 and became one of Susan B. Anthony’s “most competent young lieutenants.” But she did not stop there. The Art Association she formed in her house in 1883 evolved into the Indianapolis Museum of Art (now Newfields). She was the force behind establishing The Propylaeum and brought women from all around the country and in all types of organizations into the International Council of Women, which she led from 1899-1904.
Burial: Section 13, Lot 24; GPS (39.8196069,-86.1759759)